


Mister Sandman, bring me a dream

by frostysunflowers



Series: Of bright autumn days and things that go bump in the night [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Fear, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 00:48:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20883419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostysunflowers/pseuds/frostysunflowers
Summary: Tony experiences the worst kind of nightmare.





	Mister Sandman, bring me a dream

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by blondsak's amazing fic [No Life But This](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18639226)
> 
> For the prompt 'magic' from [hailingstars 13 nights of halloween challenge](https://hailing-stars.tumblr.com/post/187781459998/13-nights-of-halloween)

It wasn’t a gigantic blaze of light or some monstrous explosion that sent Tony and Peter tumbling towards the ground.

No, it was a sprinkle of dust.

Racing across the city, as they were known to do whenever the mood struck them, had led them high across the rooftops. A flash of something golden and sparkling, a menacing cackle that seemed to echo all around them, and then Tony felt himself fall, Peter plummeting towards earth being the last thing he saw before darkness claimed him.

He came to with a yell, arms and legs jerking and chest heaving. He scrambled onto his hands and knees, looking around wildly. He was no longer in the suit and no longer falling between skyscrapers with Peter several feet ahead of him.

He was in a forest. Or, at least, what he thought was a forest. Everything was so dark. Trees with thick trunks and naked branches loomed over him sinisterly and a sharp chill whipped through the strewn leaves on the damp ground.

There was no sign of Peter.

''Peter!''

Tony pushed himself up and began walking forward, turning in circles as he called out for the kid, voice ringing out uselessly into the black.

_''Peter!''_

The adrenaline from the fall morphed into something heavy, the pressure of it like a loaded gun against his chest. 

He kept going, practically hyperventilating with a suffocating kind of terror that grew with every moment, tripping over his own feet as his pace got faster and faster, the surroundings never seeming to change as he moved. Mud was sloshing against his shoes and his skin stung from the cold air blowing against him but he didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop until he found Peter.

He opened his mouth to scream out again, breath catching on a frightened sob in the back of his throat -

''Mister Stark!''

Tony turned with a gasp to see Peter standing only inches behind him. The instant heady rush of relief was overwhelming and he automatically reached out, needing to hold the kid close, to feel him breathing, to feel solid evidence that he was alright. 

Peter stepped back sharply, shaking his head. Tony noticed then that he wasn’t wearing the suit, that he was covered in cuts and bruises, that his eyes were wide, desperate, scared.

''Pete, what – ''

''You gotta run!'' Peter’s voice was raspy and pained, ''please, Mister Stark, you have to _run!''_

Peter’s arms shot out to push Tony as he stepped close again, sending him stumbling backwards. Tony dug his heels in to stop himself from falling over, reaching out again to try and offer comfort to the obviously terrified kid trembling in front of him.

''Kid, what the hell – ''

''They’re coming!'' Peter hissed, tears falling down his cheeks as he glanced over his shoulder into the darkness. ''Please, Mister Stark, go!''

Tony reached out for him again, but then the kid collapsed to the ground, writhing and bucking and screaming in pure agony.

_''Peter!''_

Tony immediately fell to his knees and grabbed Peter by the shoulders, holding him tightly, calling his name as Peter continued to scream. The tendons in his neck were rigid and the skin of his face was a near crimson flush and Tony felt a scream of his own rising up within him along with the frantic urge to know just what the _fuck _was going on –

Then, just like that, Peter disappeared.

Tony gaped down at the empty space in his arms, fingers wiggling in the vacant air where Peter’s trembling shoulders had just been.

''No, no no no – PETER!''

Tony hurried to his feet once more, spinning madly on the spot and breaking into short bursts of running in all directions as he called Peter’s name again and again.

It went on for ages. Nothing but darkness, not a sound except for a rushing whisper of wind and Tony’s hoarse cries of Peter’s name.

Then Peter was there for a split second, angry and upset and telling Tony to get away from him before running into the trees. Then he was there again, a broken shell of himself that didn’t know Tony at all and cowering away from him in fright. And again, somehow frailer and younger and grabbing at Tony like holding on tight would stop them from being pulled apart by the unseen force that seemed to linger all around them.

After the sixth encounter in which Peter had appeared only to collapse in front of Tony with a bullet wound in his head, Tony stopped to lean against a tree, pressing his face into the damp bark and screwing his eyes shut, breathing ragged gasps of despair into the mossy surface.

A scuffling from behind had him whirling around instantly, dread engulfing him once more.

It wasn’t Peter.

It was a girl.

''What the – ''

She looked around rapidly as she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. She was small and slight, so much so that she looked like she could be knocked over with a sharp gust of wind. Her hair was a wavy mess of brown and her eyes were bloodshot and shimmering. 

A realisation struck Tony.

He knew those eyes.

''Tony?'' The girl said uncertainly as she peered at him, making Tony’s heart hitch. ''It’s – it’s me, Pippa.''

She reached out for him and Tony took an instinctive step back, bumping into the tree. The girl’s face crumpled with hurt and she drew away, holding her arms around herself in a hug.

''W-what’s going on? We were at home, out on the porch, with – wait, where’s Morgan?''

''Morgan?'' Tony shook his head. ''Who’s Morgan?''

Pippa stared at him in blatant horror and looked so very startlingly like Peter, Tony found himself reaching out for her this time.

''Kid, I – ''

''Where is she?'' Pippa stormed forward, knocking his arm out of the way and glaring into his face, fear mangling harshly with fury on her lightly freckled face. ''Where the hell is my sister and what have you done with Tony?''

''Sister?'' Tony held up his hands, giving as much of an impression of innocence as he could. ''I don’t know about your sister.''

''Bull_s__hit!''_

''Whoa whoa!'' Tony kept his arms up as Pippa rammed the palm of her hand against his chest and pinned him to the tree, her strength surprising him. ''Kid, I swear I don’t know, there’s nobody here but me.''

Pippa glared at him, tears filling her eyes, betraying the anger in her expression. ''Don’t lie – ''

''I promise you, sweetheart – ''

_''Don’t call me that!'’ _Pippa yelled, the words whirling around them like a boomerang, hand pushing in harder. ''Tell me what you’ve done with them!''

The tears brimming in her eyes, angry and doubtful, caught Tony off guard. He knew that look so well because he’d seen it before, right in front of him like it was now on a face that he knew cell by cell, eyelash by eyelash, hairline to jawline.

''Kiddo,'' he tried again, moving a hand to tap at the fingers digging into his sternum. Pippa’s expression broke then, tears spilling over and teeth baring in a gritted sob.

''Where are they?''

The words left her mouth as she vanished, as quick as a light switching off, leaving Tony alone, breathless and sliding down the side of the tree, bark scraping harshly against his skin as his shirt rucked up.

There was a rustling of leaves from the other side of the trunk and he shuffled round, already dreading what he was about to see.

''Mister Stark?''

It was Peter.

And he was turning into dust.

Tony launched himself forward, knowing what was coming but still so desperate to stop it somehow, but Peter’s tormented eyes met his own and he knew that it was all in vain.

His arms landed around Peter just as he vanished, leaving Tony to sink to his knees as the dust fell through his fingers and swirled away on the breeze.

It was too much.

The pain was more than a knife wedging into the gap between his ribs and cracking him open. It was like being unwoven from the inside out, everything unravelling with such brutality and knotting back together with the fear; the gruelling, consuming fear that had him slamming his fists into the dirt and roaring his grief into the darkness.

_Tony…_

_TONY!_

The voice sounded like it was submerged under water, warbled and tinny. Tony wasn’t even sure it was real at first, until it came again.

_Tony! Can you hear us?_

_You need to open your eyes – come back now!_

_Peter needs you!_

Peter…but Peter was gone. He’d seen it happen, been unable to hold onto him, looked everywhere –

A fuzzy sort of bang came from nearby.

''Whoa, what the – Downey, if this is one of your pranks again, I swear to god I’m never visiting you and Susan ever again.''

Tony stayed where he was, half-sprawled in the sodden earth, barely registering that there was someone else there.

''Hey, Robert, are you – okay, you’re okay – ''

Hands suddenly gripped his arms and a pair of trainers and jean-clad knees appeared in front of him. Wanting the touch to stop, not wanting to feel any more tied to this horrendous nightmare than he already was, Tony made to move away, pulling his arms back with sluggish speed.

''Whoa, hey, man, it’s me, it’s Tom!'' the voice soothed in a different accent to his own, soft despite the undercurrent of concern running through it. ''Look, we’ll get some help, okay? Robert, are you - do you think you can get up?''

Even in the fuggy haze of his desolated mind, Tony could feel the prickle of anger for the person talking to him, for mistaking him for someone else. With a growl, he lifted his head to tell whoever the hell this Tom guy was to get the fuck away –

The face in front of him was familiar, so very familiar; still youthful but with a hint of maturity underlining each feature. 

''Peter?''

Brown eyes peered at him, shining with worry. 

''Oh, god, you’re really – okay, it’s okay, let me just – You know me? You remember that I’m Tom and you’re Robert, right? Please tell me you know that.''

''Kid…''

Tony braced a hand on a broad shoulder and held tight.

Peter looked at his hand, eyes narrow, forehead marred with lines of suspicion, and then back at Tony’s face before his entire expression shifted into one of absolute disbelief. He tilted back, mouth opening and closing a few times, before leaning in close to stare into Tony’s eyes.

''…Tony?''

A nod somehow was given in response even as, with just hearing the use of his name, all hope was once again lost.

It wasn’t Peter kneeling in front of him. It was somebody else. A copy, a reflection, an echo from some other place. 

''Y-you’re real,'' The guy – _Tom _– breathed. ''You’re actually…oh my god, is Peter here too?''

Like it was cursed, the use of Peter’s name seemed to set something off because then, the world was full of rushing wind and a blazing brightness that had Tony squeezing his eyes shut. The hands on his forearms vanished, trying to cling on before they slipped away and Tony was flung upwards, body twisting and turning in any and every way possible.

_Tony!_

_Come on, Tones, you can do this! Just open your eyes._

_Mister Stark? Mister Stark, I – I woke up, but y-you’re still not here and I don’t know what to do…_

Peter. That was Peter’s voice.

Tony’s eyes flew open. He was still falling and flying, tumbling through an inky darkness with no way of telling which direction was which.

A shimmer of gold glinted in front of him and a figure burst into being. Tall with gnarled features and draped in gilded clothing that sparkled offensively in the dark.

''You wish to awaken now.''

The voice was hateful, soft with scorn. Tony somehow righted himself, arms pinwheeling, and then he lunged forward, flying through the air as easily as if he were wearing the suit.

His hands locked around a pale throat and he snarled right into the face of his nightmare.

''Where.Is.My.Kid?''

A snake-like smile flickered across pale lips at Tony’s words.

‘’Your affection for the boy is admirable and foolhardy. Has this experience taught you nothing? Have you failed to grasp the truth that no matter what you do, Tony Stark, you will never be able to save him?’’

Tony’s fist collided with sneering teeth and taunting eyes in a fierce punch that he followed up with another, and another and another, screaming out his rage all the while, unable to register the hands that were suddenly holding him down, the familiar voices calling for him to stop.

''Tony! Tony, stop – you’re alright, it’s over, you’re okay!''

Two hands cupped his face just as more pressed him down, holding him steady.

''You hear me? Huh?'' One of the hands tapped his cheek and Tony nodded as Rhodey’s face appeared above him. ''Good, take a deep breath for me. You’re alright, it’s over now.''

''W-what – ''

His voice was barely above a whisper, rendered useless after all the screaming, but Rhodey heard him anyway.

''Some kind of mystic from another dimension. Called himself The Sandman. Strange is dealing with him.''

''Peter,'' Tony gasped. ''Where is he?''

Rhodey sighed as Tony sat up, keeping hold of him to prevent him from falling to the floor. Tony barely registered the presence of Steve and the others as they stepped aside, giving him a full view of a very exhausted but otherwise physically unharmed Peter.

They reached for each other instantly; Tony opening his arms to catch Peter as he tripped forward, hooking his arms around Tony’s neck and holding on tight. Tony breathed him in, pressing his face into Peter’s hair, bracing himself for the kid to vanish at any moment.

''Why?'' Peter whispered, gently knocking his forehead against Tony’s shoulder. ''Why did he do that? I had to w-watch you disappear over and over…''

''I don’t know, bud,'' Tony sighed, heart breaking at the thought of Peter suffering through the same hell that he had. ''I don’t know.''

''Where did they all come from though?'' Peter asked, leaning back to look at him. ''He…he said that in all other worlds, I was…never able to save you.''

''He was trying to mess with your heads,'' Steve insisted, moving closer to place a hand on Tony’s back. ''It was a nightmare. Just a really terrible, awful nightmare.''

Tony gazed hungrily at Peter’s face, unable to shake the sense of foreboding still clinging to him.

''Yeah, you’re right.''

But something about the look in Peter’s eyes told him that he didn’t believe that any more than Tony did. Deep down he knew, and he could tell Peter did too, that somewhere, something was very wrong.

Tony pulled Peter back in close, sighing shakily into his mop of curls, and prayed that whatever it was, they’d figure out what to do before it came for them too.

**Author's Note:**

> *holds hand above eyes and squints* did anyone see my fluff? I'm sure I left it here somewhere...
> 
> Thanks for reading! Come chat to me on [tumblr!](https://frostysunflowers.tumblr.com/)


End file.
